Tech.Ed 2009: Photo gallery

Departing from the usual conference opening, there was no keynote speaker, instead Microsoft showed off Windows 7 and Office 2010. At one point, a PC (from the Apple Mac and PC commercials) took to the stage, and expressed his dismay at always being portrayed as a boring machine.

The "PC" then ripped apart his velcro tweed jacket.

And there go the pants!

Finally the shirt is ripped off to reveal a "Windows 7" shirt underneath with the cry "the PC is back!" Vista was not mentioned at all in the opening ceremony.

No surprises for guessing that Microsoft is pushing its own products hard at its own event. Here are a couple of punters checking out Bing.

Don't for one second think that it is only Microsoft wishing to promote itself to attendees, even silly hats are recruited to get an attendee's attention.

Undoubtedly, the best way to stand out on the show floor is to offer a motorbike in a business card draw.

Video games are guaranteed to be a hit at tech conferences.

The Microsoft round-table.

Sometimes it all becomes too much.

Each attendee received a HP Mini that they could use for the duration of the conference and donate to charity, or keep for themselves. Each netbook comes equipped with Windows 7 and the latest Office 2010 technical preview.

Last night's Welcome Party featured V8 Supercar hardware.

A few of the lads really got into Guitar Hero.